Will this routine work well?

[dougie175]

Got myself a bit excited and bought a load more products after reading a few reviews on detailing World

So after a discount code for clean and shiny I bought myself some:

Auto Finesse Spritz - supposed to give an fantastic OEM look to interior plastics, I currently use Meguiars but it is a bit too shiny for my liking and doesn't quite have the look I would like

Auto Finesse Total - Again supposed to be great on alcantara in the centre of my seats and steering wheels

microfibre Madness Incredimitt - have not read a single bad review about tjis mitt seems to be the daddy of all mitts by those in the know

microfibre Dry Me Crazy - Nice bit well rated towel to dry after washing

G3 clay Mitt finally arrived

 

Then the Autoglym rep turned up in the van this afternoon and gave me a cracking deal on UHD Shampoo that made it pretty much as cost effective as the Carchem so it would have been rude to not purchase a bottle and at least give it a try for myself

[dougie175]

Got chance to try the Ultra High Definition Shampoo this evening thought I would let you know what I thought, basically it is a lovely shampoo and is the best I have ever used its a lovely thick substance to work with and cleans well you really cant ask for me. However I would say the Carchem shampoo is 90% as good and far most cost effective at retail prices.

If money is endless I can honestly say I don't think there will be a better shampoo out there than UHD at the moment, however Carchem does exactly the same job almost as well for a cheaper price.

I will play with them both over the next few months as I have enough shampoo to last a good long while and see if I notice any major differences but overall you wont go far wrong with either

[rayaans]

Very nice stack of kit there.

Ive just been doing my son's headliner - its a 9 year old Golf and probably never been cleaned - was looking a bit dull but its back to light grey now! Got a headache after this weather though!

[dougie175]

1 minute ago, rayaans said:

Very nice stack of kit there.

Ive just been doing my son's headliner - its a 9 year old Golf and probably never been cleaned - was looking a bit dull but its back to light grey now! Got a headache after this weather though!

Yeah head linings are always neglected bet it looks a lot nicer! Fortunately my IS has a black head lining so it looks good anywho.

Loving your recommendations so far mate top products. Next Saturday is the big day all the paint will be bare by Friday evening and I've planned a day to myself on Saturday with the machine polisher and a tin of fusso! Not a job I'm looking forward too but will be worth it in the end.

[rayaans]

Just now, dougie175 said:

Yeah head linings are always neglected bet it looks a lot nicer! Fortunately my IS has a black head lining so it looks good anywho.

Loving your recommendations so far mate top products. Next Saturday is the big day all the paint will be bare by Friday evening and I've planned a day to myself on Saturday with the machine polisher and a tin of fusso! Not a job I'm looking forward too but will be worth it in the end.

You might have to wash it again in the morning if you're leaving it overnight. 

With Fusso, put 2 layers on. Dont use the supplied applicator, its too coarse. Instead use another one but make sure its damp so you can put thin layers on otherwise it'll be a PITA to remove.

And as always, give us a good beading video - love the water behaviour on Fusso

[dougie175]

On ‎17‎/‎06‎/‎2017 at 5:46 PM, rayaans said:

You might have to wash it again in the morning if you're leaving it overnight. 

With Fusso, put 2 layers on. Dont use the supplied applicator, its too coarse. Instead use another one but make sure its damp so you can put thin layers on otherwise it'll be a PITA to remove.

And as always, give us a good beading video - love the water behaviour on Fusso

Yeah I'll be giving it another quick rinse and towel dry before starting with the polisher. 

Didn't like the look of the fusso apppicstor so i bought one of these 

Does it look suitable? I'm hoping it will stop the hand cramps i usually get when applying wax!

Yeah I'll get a video sorted once it's finished.

[J Henderson]

I'm sure it'll be fine, but heed Rayaan's advice and keep it damp during use. I think it's a Meguiars one I use and I periodically mist it with a spray bottle before dipping into the tin.

My Fusso applicator got cut in half and used for applying tyre shine. 

 

[dougie175]

1 hour ago, J Henderson said:

I'm sure it'll be fine, but heed Rayaan's advice and keep it damp during use. I think it's a Meguiars one I use and I periodically mist it with a spray bottle before dipping into the tin.

My Fusso applicator got cut in half and used for applying tyre shine. 

 

I got the puck and pad from here they come highly recommended

http://www.seriousperformance.co.uk/Products,65,toView_987.html

http://www.seriousperformance.co.uk/Products,125,toView_294.html

Yeah I'll keep it damp and work on a 2 panel system apply to panel 1 leave alone whilst i apply to panel 2 once applied to panel 2 remove from panel 1 then apply to panel 3 and so forth. 

Good shout on using at a tyre shine applicator looks ideal for that was probably going to go in the bin or just sit redundant. 

[dougie175]

For anyone who wants to see the results on all the great advice in this topic I have posted up a bit of progress here on my build thread:

 

[dougie175]

@rayaans Just after another bit of advice, have you had any experience with AS Red 7?

After giving my wife's Leon a clean last weekend I used my carchem revolt on her wheels and completely touchless they cam out immaculate despite not being cleaned for months and months, was really impressed. I don't usually use anything about from shampoo, water and wheel sealant on my own wheels using a wash mitt, this keeps them tip top but it is time consuming and doesn't always get every bit out of the very tight corners of my spokes.

I think Carchem revolt would strip the wheel sealant each time I used it but this Autosmart Red 7 says it is PH neutral so I am wondering if it could be used as part of my weekly routine to give the wheels a quick squirt without doing any harm unlike spraying them with something like wheel acid?

If no AS Red 7 can you recommend another product that would work well for weekly touchless wheel cleaning without removing any sealants and being corrosive to the paint surface.

Thanks

[rayaans]

15 hours ago, dougie175 said:

@rayaans Just after another bit of advice, have you had any experience with AS Red 7?

After giving my wife's Leon a clean last weekend I used my carchem revolt on her wheels and completely touchless they cam out immaculate despite not being cleaned for months and months, was really impressed. I don't usually use anything about from shampoo, water and wheel sealant on my own wheels using a wash mitt, this keeps them tip top but it is time consuming and doesn't always get every bit out of the very tight corners of my spokes.

I think Carchem revolt would strip the wheel sealant each time I used it but this Autosmart Red 7 says it is PH neutral so I am wondering if it could be used as part of my weekly routine to give the wheels a quick squirt without doing any harm unlike spraying them with something like wheel acid?

If no AS Red 7 can you recommend another product that would work well for weekly touchless wheel cleaning without removing any sealants and being corrosive to the paint surface.

Thanks

AS Red 7 is good (and cheap) but I still think it would remove the wheel sealant. 

I would recommend ditching the wash mitt for wheels and getting a valetpro brush like this one:

And some wheel woolies from Aliexpress or something for the backs will significantly speed things up. I don't use wash mitts on wheels as they simply can't get into all the nooks and crannies whereas brushes can (the valetpro ones are good because they're small)

Ive ordered one from Aliexpress and will let you know of the quality once it arrives.

I think most touchless wheel cleaners will remove wheel sealants and not many wheel sealants will be able to shed ALL the dirt. Only one springs to mind and thats Gtechniq C5. 

Its just one of those things that needs to be done but its better tackled with a brush than a wash mitt.

The video shows how easy the wheel woolies are to use:

 

On  a side note, I've been testing an upcoming Valetpro product for wheels which should be exciting. Only been on for a week or so but water behaviour is promising - just hope it does actually keep the wheel cleaner than not having it on. Its still in the formulation stage but its nearly there. Extremely easy to apply as well (pretty much idiot proof), slap it on thick, slap it on thin, it doesn't really matter.

 

[dougie175]

Thanks for the reply!

This new valetpro product sounds like a new wheel sealer that works well?

Even if Red 7 removes the sealant does it do any harm to the wheel? I thinking leaving the wheels un-sealed and just using Red 7 and agitating with a brush when needed will make a better and easier system than sealing them and washing with shampoo.

Keep us informed on both products though they sound interesting and I will look into Gtechniq C5 may be another option to continuing with the shampoo

[rayaans]

42 minutes ago, dougie175 said:

Thanks for the reply!

This new valetpro product sounds like a new wheel sealer that works well?

Even if Red 7 removes the sealant does it do any harm to the wheel? I thinking leaving the wheels un-sealed and just using Red 7 and agitating with a brush when needed will make a better and easier system than sealing them and washing with shampoo.

Keep us informed on both products though they sound interesting and I will look into Gtechniq C5 may be another option to continuing with the shampoo

No it won't do any harm to the wheel as its pH neutral

Not really a problem with modern wheels leaving them unsealed - I left my RX ones unsealed and just used wheel cleaner with brushes and had no issues. The only thing I did was spray autosmart tango diluted 1:2 over them when wet and rinsed off - left some protection and needed topping up every wash but when you only have to spray on a wet wheel, its not a problem, especially when Tango is so bloody cheap. 

Has loads of uses too - perfect for door shuts or as a drying aid

[dougie175]

Top tips as ever so Red 7 and maybe an agitation with a brush when required and the odd dose of Tango sounds like a plan!

[rayaans]

21 minutes ago, dougie175 said:

Top tips as ever so Red 7 and maybe an agitation with a brush when required and the odd dose of Tango sounds like a plan!

Well Tango will need applying every wash - just keep it in a dedicated spray bottle 1:2 and spray onto the wheel after cleaning and rinse off - you'll immediately see the water bead.

It makes the wheels slightly easier to wash as the dirt tends to remain on the surface of tango rather than the wheel itself but the added benefit is that its super easy to apply so you can just use a normal wheel cleaner and reapply when washing.

[dougie175]

Yeah happy to apply every wash I tend to apply my wheel sealant after most washes and the wheel have to be dry to apply that so this sounds much easier!

Sounds like a nice simple please, spray with Red 7, clean the wheels then once rinsed off spray Tango on and rinse again job done. Easy peasy should yield better results that my current way and sounds quicker and easier!

[rayaans]

2 hours ago, dougie175 said:

Yeah happy to apply every wash I tend to apply my wheel sealant after most washes and the wheel have to be dry to apply that so this sounds much easier!

Sounds like a nice simple please, spray with Red 7, clean the wheels then once rinsed off spray Tango on and rinse again job done. Easy peasy should yield better results that my current way and sounds quicker and easier!

Yes it's definitely easy but dont expect much if anything from tango. It does help make cleaning slightly easier but not a huge amount and nowhere near a proper wheel sealant

[dougie175]

22 hours ago, rayaans said:

Yes it's definitely easy but dont expect much if anything from tango. It does help make cleaning slightly easier but not a huge amount and nowhere near a proper wheel sealant

I don't rate wheel sealants myself not the 2 I have used anyway, AG and Armourall Shield, they make a slight difference but nothing using some normal wax wouldn't do just the same.

I don't leave my car to get that dirty anyway so think Red 7 would comfortably remove 1-2 weeks of brake dust on untreated wheel or wheels treated with tango anyway

[rayaans]

13 minutes ago, dougie175 said:

I don't rate wheel sealants myself not the 2 I have used anyway, AG and Armourall Shield, they make a slight difference but nothing using some normal wax wouldn't do just the same.

I don't leave my car to get that dirty anyway so think Red 7 would comfortably remove 1-2 weeks of brake dust on untreated wheel or wheels treated with tango anyway

AG and Armorall are both pants so not surprised. Coatings like Gtechniq C5 are the real deal for wheels but need relatively careful application. 

Once that's done, then youre good for 1-2 years providing you use normal shampoo

[dougie175]

Yeah I had a look into Gtechniq c5 looks very good so guess its a toss up between that and using shampoo or a wheel cleaner

[Farqui]

A good alloy sealant is FK1000, mine/mrsF's come up nicely under light lance action.

[dougie175]

I would imagine even with the best wheel sealant some form of scrubbing / agitation will be required? The ideal would be 100% immaculate wheels from just lance off but I don't think that would be possible with any of them, I'm just trying to work out if its easier/better to scrub with shampoo or scrub with a wheel cleaner each week, I think wheel cleaners will help with not missing bits as they seem to breakdown the dirt better

[NemesisUK]

My alloys have been sealed by the dealer using Williams ceramic coating. A quick wipe over removes all dirt and brake dust. No alloy cleaner required. I also use Wheel Woolies every other wash, just to get to the back of the barrels. No scrubbing.

[Farqui]

I hadn't realised it until recently but Purity X can be used on alloys too. I'm looking forward to giving it a try as others rate it for ease of use.

[rayaans]

12 hours ago, dougie175 said:

I would imagine even with the best wheel sealant some form of scrubbing / agitation will be required? The ideal would be 100% immaculate wheels from just lance off but I don't think that would be possible with any of them, I'm just trying to work out if its easier/better to scrub with shampoo or scrub with a wheel cleaner each week, I think wheel cleaners will help with not missing bits as they seem to breakdown the dirt better

Yes, FK1000P and Fusso on wheels will need some agitation - as with any other wheel sealant that is not a coating.

Hybrids don't spew out as much brake dust as conventional cars so results can be skewed. 

I think you're probably better off going with the C5 (other manufacturers do make wheel coatings as well).